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Can I file a civil suit against the prosecutor for a

subpoena, release of property, and/or...

Can I file a civil suit against the prosecutor for a subpoena, release of property, and/or property search warrant to prevent criminal entrapment?In 2016 a federal prosecutor seized property during a warrant arrest while returning to the U.S. (e.g.; flash drive, laptop, donor deposits, etc.).Theseized property belonged to a political organization I was managing. The inability to access the property seized by prosecutor caused the political organization to be in violation of financial report requirements under federal law. Additionally, me being the listed fund manager I'm personally liable for the financial reports from records on electronic devices that were seized (long overdue), the donor check deposits (that were to be deposited the day of warrant arrest), and other property that belonged to the organization I worked for.In a recent court hearing (pre-trial) the prosecutor rambled off to the judge about a new criminal investigation against me related to the political organization that I had left in good standing (aside from the seized properties).The curious part is that there is no open legal action regarding my former employer whom I was campaign fund manager for yet the prosecutor began throwing out financial figures and expenditures that he'd only have known from the electronic devices or bank records since only I, myself had some idea of what the figures were and hadn't been able to conduct the necessary filings even after making bail from detainment months later. Additionally, I will add that the prosecutor did not have a warrant or subpoena for bank records or access to the electronic devices (illegal investigation procedures?).My concern is that they're entrapping me to be in violation with the other federal election agency and will try and raise charges against me for it soon. A criminal lawyer I know told I can file for a motion at Supreme Court (not U.S. court) to get a judge to release the properties (unrelated to any other court proceedings) and air out their dirty deeds.Seeking a second opinion- (Sounds expensive because I doubt there are many lawyers who want to file suit against the US Attorney's Office even though it's not suing for money.

Unfortunately, prosecutors have complete immunity when acting in the scope of their employment. You cannot sue a prosecutor for the way your case was handled. What a defendant can do is to appeal his or her case on the ground of prosecutorial misconduct. You can also report the prosecutor to his licensing authority and to the state attorney general. That should trigger an investigation into your allegations. If the findings of that investigation bear out your complaint, the prosecutor can be sanctioned, even barred from the further practice of law.

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Customer reply replied 1 year ago

Thank you. So what is your opinion about the seized property that is causing the party (suspect from new investigation mentioned by the AUSA) to violate other federal laws (not related to the current case he's handling) that could entrap the defendant on other civil and criminal charges?More bluntly said: The seized electronic devices have data on it that's prevent federal filings to be completed. Failure to file a report or return of donor checks not deposited during the election campaign causes the defendant to commit civil and criminal acts.

It doesn't matter what I think. You cannot sue or prosecute a prosecutor. All you can do is get him investigated for his or her impropriety. That can, however, cause a great deal of damage. Though he can't be prosecuted, if it's determined that he did break the law and used his office to do so, he would lose his job and, in my experience, his license to practice law as well.

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DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).